


Through The Mountains

by holdyourbreathfornow



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Based on an animatic by @altruistic-skittles, I ain’t gonna lie it brought me to tears, M/M, So y’all should check it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-03 01:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16316603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdyourbreathfornow/pseuds/holdyourbreathfornow
Summary: Virgil has been transformed into a dragon by his evil sister and waits for death in the mountains.Patton is mourning the death of the love of his life and fiancé.  When he learns that Virgil didn’t even have a proper funeral, he decides to travel through the mountains, regardless of the dragon laying within that killed Virgil.





	Through The Mountains

    “My brother,”  says Mara of the Iles of Storms, “was killed by a dragon as we traveled through the mountains.  Prince Virgil was viciously slain by a dragon and we could not bury him, instead having to flee from the beast.”

 

    “You didn’t bury him?”  Prince Patton, the youngest son of King Thomas, youngest Prince of the Country of Starlight, asks, fingers curling around the ring he wears on a chain about his neck.  Before Prince Virgil had been killed, he was engaged to Prince Patton. The reason the two royals of the Iles of Storms had been traveling through the mountain where the dragon lived was that they were coming to the Country of Starlight for the wedding that would combine the two kingdoms.  

 

    “Sire, there was no body left to bury.”  Mara looks up, tears still leaking from her eyes as she speaks.  

 

    “Then my love hasn’t even had a funeral!  Honestly, it’s a miracle his spirit hasn’t returned to haunt us!”  Patton wipes his own tears off his face and stands, descending from the platform where he sat upon his throne with his father and two brothers.  Prince Roman, one of his brothers, stands and follows him down the steps.

 

    “Patton, whatever you’re thinking, we shouldn’t go back into the mountains again.”  Roman warns and lays a hand upon Patton’s shoulder. The youngest prince sighs and turns to face Roman, taking his hand from his shoulder and holding it with both of his own.

 

    “Roman, the man I loved in life has been abandoned in death.  If ever I loved him, then it is my responsibility to at least give him a funeral.”

 

    “Surely your own country could host his funeral?”  Mara speaks up and Logan, the eldest of the three brothers, shakes his head, templing his fingers under his chin.

 

    “Princess Mara, we all know your brother was adored by your subjects.  If they were to learn that we laid claim to a celebration of his life, then there would be chaos and hatred.  Perhaps even all-out war. My brother is right, we should make a caravan and travel home with you.”

 

    “And if we should face the dragon?”  Mara asks, sounding slightly panicked.

 

    “Precisely why Roman will be traveling with us.  As head of the knights, he is more than equipped to defend the four of us, plus I believe he’ll want to bring along two or three of his trusted knights?”  Logan looks to Roman for confirmation, who nods affirmatively. “Then it is settled. Princess Mara, pack your things.” The three brothers sweep from the hall, Mara scowling and muttering to herself as she follows behind at a distance.  “We’re going through the mountain.”

 

    -

 

    The sun shines bright as the caravan treks along the path and Patton keeps his cloak pulled tightly about him, despite the heat of the sun.  Chills wrack his body and he keeps pausing to brush tears away as they occasionally drip from his eyes.

 

    “Do you miss him?”  He asks Mara, because he notices she isn’t crying, and she doesn’t answer at first.  Her eyes cast to the rock walls surrounding them nervously, as if she’s waiting for the same dragon that took her brother to leap down and snatch her up next, which is ridiculous.  

 

Roman and his knights take pride in their abilities for good reason.  They’ve battled creatures that crawled their ways from the darkest pits, from the most twisted minds of creators, and they’ve bested every one.  

 

“I do miss him…”  Mara speaks finally, turning her gaze to Patton with a sad smile.  “But I have to keep my head on straight. Our mother is ill, and the time for me to claim the throne draws ever nearer.”

 

“Virgil would’ve made a good king.”  Patton muses, and in his mind’s eye, Virgil smiles as bright as the sun that beats down on the caravan.

 

“And I will make a great queen.”  Mara smiles and suddenly it isn’t as sad as before, suddenly it’s twisted and thorny with pride.  Patton frowns slightly and picks up his pace, pulling up between his brothers.

 

“Is everything alright?”  Roman asks, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword.  Patton glances over his shoulder at Mara, who’s flirting with one of Roman’s knights.  

 

“How far until we reach the end of the mountains?”  Patton asks, dodging the question, and Roman glances to where the sun pierces through the peaks of the mountains and paints them red, like mighty, blood-stained teeth of some great beast.  

 

“Not soon enough, little brother.  Not soon enough.”

 

-

 

A familiar smell assaults Virgil’s nose and he lifts his head, peering forward.  The brightness of the evening sun dazzles him and he blinks, shaking his head once to clear the sunspots from his vision.

 

Below his cave, a caravan passes through him, and he notices they’re dressed in outfits of mourning, all black and heavy cloth.  What puzzles Virgil, though, is the fact that there’s no casket. Then he realizes what he smelled and he very nearly starts crying in pure joy.  There, just below him, a short flight away, is Patton. His Patton! The man he’s going to marry! The man who he’s kissed countless times, laid with under the stars, and his claws itch to hold Patton.  

 

So he spreads his wings and launches down from the rock, already falling before he sees Roman and his knights, their swords at the ready, but they don’t notice Virgil, through sheer luck.  He veers from his path and lands soundlessly behind the party, slinking into the foliage.

 

He hears his sister’s high-pitched voice, shrill and demanding as always, and the fire in his belly roars in sheer fury.  Now his claws itch for a different reason, because his sister was the one who made him the monster he is now, and now he cannot let her poison the minds of the three princes he calls family.  He has to act.

 

-

 

When the great roar fills the air, Patton very nearly shrieks.  Roman draws his sword and rides into the midst of his knights as the dragon lands heavily in front of them.  

 

Its scales dance violet and black in the sinking sun, and its silver eyes sweep back and forth across the caravan, smoke curling from its nostrils as its tongue lolls from a mouth full of bared, dagger-sharp teeth.  

 

“Breathe, Patton.”  Logan mutters to him and Patton nods, concentrating on getting enough air into his lungs so that he doesn’t collapse right off his horse.  

 

The knights launch a volley of arrows at the beast and it swipes them from the air, hissing lowly and almost quietly, even though it still shakes the ground.  

 

“For the prince Virgil!”  Roman yells and draws his sword.  He scores a lucky hit, and the long gash across one of the creature’s cheeks oozes red blood.  It whines and leaps into the air again. The sun dazzles everyone as they crane their heads back to scan the sky, and no one notices until it’s too late, until it lands in a neat coil around Patton, effectively separating him from the rest of the caravan.  He hears Roman and Logan yelling for him, but he’s mesmerized by the dragon’s face as it lowers down over him. It puffs a small cloud of smoke into his face and he coughs, eyes watering as his horse whinnies nervously and threatens to buck him off.

 

He stares the dragon in the eyes and keeps eye contact as he slides from his horse, and the dragon makes a low, rattling sound, letting its head creep incrementally closer, teeth carefully hidden.  Finally, the dragon’s head comes close enough that Patton can touch it, and he runs the tips of his fingers along the cut on the dragon’s cheek.

 

“Are you going to hurt me?”  Patton asks and the dragon shakes its head once.  “Okay, I’m trusting you here, so you can’t hurt me.”  He cups the dragon’s head in his hands and the dragon’s eyes slip closed, and it makes a low, continuous rumbling that wold be purring if it came from a cat.  “How can you have killed Virgil?” The dragon’s eyes snaps open and it shakes its head fiercely. “What are you saying? You didn’t kill Virgil?” Another shake.  “Then what did?” The dragon tilts its head and Patton sighs. “Right, yes or no questions only. Alright…”

 

“Did you kill Virgil?”

 

Shake.

 

“Did you hurt Virgil at all?”

 

Shake.

 

“Did you see what happened to Virgil?”

 

A nod and Patton inhales sharply.  The dragon nuzzles into his hands and he laughs wetly, starting to cry again.  Even if Virgil’s dead, then now Patton can know what happened to his love.

 

Unbeknownst to the entire party, the sun has fully set.  A silver glow starts at the dragon’s tail. Just as Roman prepares to strike, Logan grabs him by his elbow, yelling at him to stop.  Mara, standing at the edge of the group, lifts her skirt and pulls a jagged dagger from a holster around her ankle, hiding it in the sleeve of her mourning dress.

 

“What’s happening?”  Roman asks and Logan readjusts his glasses before running a hand through his hair.

 

“I have no idea.”

 

“You’re glowing…”  Patton whispers to the dragon and it trills softly at him, curling around him tightly.  Patton has to shut his eyes against the glow, and he doesn’t even noticed it’s faded away until he feels someone combing their fingers through his hair.  

 

“Hello, Starlight.”  Patton’s eyes open and he finds his face is buried in someone’s shoulder.  He pulls his head back just as the person moves and he gasps, tears instantly gathering in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks.  Virgil stands there, haloed by the moon and a remnant glow around his body. He shimmers with it and his own tears are also silver.

 

“Virgil!”  Patton gasps and runs right back into his arms.  “Oh, I thought you were dead!”

 

“I wanted to be.”  Virgil admits quietly, lips pressed to Patton’s forehead.  “But then I’d think of you, I’d pretend you were in your wedding suit, waiting for me at the altar, and you kept me alive, darling.”

 

“Mara said a dragon killed you!”  Patton cries and he and Virgil turn to look at Virgil’s sister.  So does everyone else in the caravan. She looks around her and grins maliciously.

 

“Sorry, brother dear.  I didn’t think you’d actually show.”

 

“Mara of the Iles of Storms, you are placed in the custody of the Princes of the Country of Starlight for crimes against both our kingdom and your own.”  Logan announces, stepping forward. Mara shakes out her sleeves and Virgil walks nearer, Patton trailing in his wake. When Virgil sees the glint of metal he breaks into a run and raises his arm just as Mara lets the knife fly.  The steel lodges in his shoulder and he yells in pain, slouching forward and raising a hand to the knife, gripping it and pulling it out. He straightens up and lowers the knife at the woman who was once his sister.

 

“Little brother!”  Mara laughs nervously, hands spread.  “You wouldn’t hurt me! I never did anything to you!  I’d never even think of it!”

 

“You cursed me to a life of darkness.  You forgot the light always shines in the end.”  He turns and two knights dart forward with a coil of rope.  At the last moment, he turns back and grins, mouth full of maybe too many teeth, all of them glinting white in his glow.  “You were right about one thing, though. You don’t think.” As the knights drag Mara away from the four royals, Virgil turns back to Patton and they run for each other.  Patton picks Virgil up and swings him in a wide circle, and Virgil bites his tongue as his stabbed shoulder is jarred. When he returns to his feet, he gathers Patto under his good arm and walks to Logan.  “Logan, she cursed me so I take the form of a dragon in the day and cannot leave these mountains. You’re a mage, can you break it?” Logan pauses and thinks before nodding and signaling to the knights.

 

“Yes, but we’ll have to stay here for awhile, it’ll be a complicted process.”

 

“That’s okay.”  Virgil looks at Patton, who beams up at him and shines in the moonlight.  “I’m already home.”


End file.
